Kitchen Flip Confessions

Susan Hutchinson, of Nesting in historic Pennsylvania, has a way with creating a casually comfortable kitchen. She and her husband Parker updated their kitchen in historic West Chester, PA – aiming to take it back to its humble beginnings.

Like many projects, their space is a work in progress, and they have plans to continue to remodel the kitchen as their lives calm down from the birth of their twins! I came across her remodel recently and had to reach out to her to share it with you. Here are a few questions I asked her about her kitchen remodel and update.

Why did you decide to use butcher block for your counters? How has it held up?

We wanted a warm country feel and to keep cost down. We sealed it many times with Waterlox so it would be more durable and hold up to wear and tear. So far it’s holding up beautifully! We can always change it to stone later if and when we are ready for a new look.

We kept our cabinets for cost. They’re nice Kraftmaid cabinets, and since we weren’t changing the layout it made sense to leave them. We just gave them a makeover.

I love the choice to paint your cabinets black. How did you decide on the paint color?
The idea came about when choosing a dishwasher. I wanted the appliance to disappear, so we chose black to match the cabinetry, and it worked. You don’t notice it and it makes the area appear larger since your eye is not drawn to a stainless steel appliance.

Every remodel has ‘saves and splurges.’ What was your biggest indulgence in the space?We splurged on our faucet. We fell hard for the Grohe Bridgeford and knew it would make a statement. We saved on the countertops by purchasing from IKEA and having it cut and sealed separately. Our biggest indulgence was our refrigerator, a Samsung french door number (not shown in photos). We are glad we went big with it, since we learned we were having twins not long after.

Congratulations on the twins. I bet that banquette comes in handy now.
We love our breakfast nook, and we do almost all of our dining there. It seats five comfortably, and since the kitchen is where everyone ends up, it is perfect for entertaining.

Your floors look gorgeous. How has the cork flooring held up?
The cork is amazing. It hides everything and is soft underfoot. It still looks brand new and
I love it.

What do you think? It’s got a bit of a French flair to it… would you do a French-inspired kitchen update in your home?